How should I treat Nibbler's owie?

[andreabaylon]

So I came home from a morning of volunteering at my local bunny rescue and found my widdle Nibbler had a big owie on his little hare lip. Check it out:

It's split open a little right in the crack of his lips. The fur around his mouth wasn't bloody at all so I don't think it is too deep, at least I don't think it bled that much. I put a little neosporin on it-just a little tiny dab as I don't want him ingesting any.

How should I treat it? I really don't think it's serious enough to warrant a trip to the vet. But because of where it is, right under his wiggly little nose, I am afraid it's gonna take a long time to heal and could get infected.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated, bunny pals!

 

[Maureen Las]

That is in a bad place.

We usually would recommend that youcleanse it with diluted betadine but that would be difiicult to do because of the location.; the plain neosporin won't hurt him unless you use a lot

Was this a bite from another rabbit or animal ?

What caused this injury?

 

[andreabaylon]

I didn't cleanse the area because I didn't want him to swallow (all I had to use was peroxide). But I put just a little dab all over the wound, just enough for a thin layer of protection. I will repeat this once again this evening and continue to do so till it heals up.

Another interesting tidbit, dunno if it has anything to do with the cut, but he's dropping some soggy poops. Not cecals but soggy poops that are sticking to his buttfur. Think it's related?

As for how he got the injury, I'm not positive. I recently moved his son's cage right next to his so they could keep each other company. I didn't think they could reach across to one another but perhaps they can? Just to be safe I pulled the cages a little further apart.

 

[Maureen Las]

His son probably got his mouth through the bars; actually this is going to have to be cleaned or at least thoroughly rinsed off .
Peroxide is not recommended for use on rabbits. actually destroys tissue and is very painful

; if you were going to use it it would need to be very dilute.

I actually recommend that you take this rabbit to a vet to have it cleansed properly. The bacteria from the others buns mouth is most likely going to cause a bacterial infection in the wound.
Use the neosporin in the meantime

It is good that you separated the cages.

 

[Maureen Las]

Nibbler probably is very stressed and in pain which can cause a GI upset.

 

[andreabaylon]

Thanks for the advice guys. Nibbler's mouth seems to be doing ok this morning; at least it doesn't look any worse. And no more soggy poops!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

At this point just be on the lookout for infection and abscess. We keep all the hutches at least 2 inches apart--have had a few bite when closer. We usually use saline solution to rinse with--never peroxide.

 

[andreabaylon]

Aha!:big wink: saline solution, hadn't thought of that. I have bottles of it, I am off to clean and re-neosporin Nibbler's owie~!

 

[Maureen Las]

Rinse that wound REALLY thouroughly

Nancy is right,,,,

 

[andreabaylon]

Ok so I went to rite aid this afternoon and got a bottle of bactine. I also got a little medicine syringe to inject it, but when I went to do this
1. I noticed that he has this white, cheesy like substance up in the crack between his gums and lip, should I clean this off or is that supposed to be there?
2. How should I be thoroughly cleaning it? I syringed a tiny amount into the wound but it dribbled straight down into his mouth and I didn't want him to swallow too much. Should I soak cotton balls and wipe the wound, or would that be too harsh on his delicate skin?

I know that I should take him to the vet for a thorough clean up but I've been out of work since March, I simply don't have the resources to take him in. I know he's not in dire straits, he's probably just uncomfortable and in a little pain. Any advice is appreciated:biggrin: